Because I’m at the 80% Post 9/11 GI Bill Tier, Will It Pay for All My Course Costs?

Q: I am going to be enrolled at Pima Medical and the program is considered a certification and the school considers it full-time. Being I’m receiving 80% of my Post 9/11 GI Bill, what if any will I get paid for BAH and will my costs for school be covered if the school is only $11,833?

A: You won’t get any BAH as the Post 9/11 GI Bill does not pay BAH – it pays a monthly housing allowance, which is totally different than BAH.

Now with that out of the way, what you get in Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) depends on which Pima Medical Institute campus you attend.

Because the MHA is determined by the zip code of your school and your rate of pursuit, it can vary from campus to campus. However, you can check the amount authorized for the zip code of your school by using the BAH calculator.

Enter in the zip code of your school and choose “E-5″ from the Pay Grade Drop-Down Box. Click the Calculate button. Look for the “E-5 with dependents” amount in the results, keeping in mind you would get 80% of that figure. For example, let’s assume you are going to the Mesa, AZ campus. It has a MHA of $1,461 per month of which you would get $1,168.

Because you are in a non-degree program, you would also get 80% of $83 per month in book stipend money – or $68.40 per month.

Pima Medical sounds like it is a private school. If so, then the VA would pay up to 80% of $19,198.31 per year or $15,348 per year, so your Post 9/11 GI Bill should pay for your whole certificate training.

Also, depending on which certificate you are training for, your GI Bill might also reimburse you up to 80% of the authorized reimbursable cost of the certification test.